Leviticus Study: What You Need to Know

Why on earth Leviticus?

I’m so excited that you’ve chosen to study Leviticus with me! Leviticus is undoubtedly one of the toughest books of the Bible to understand. When God first gave me the idea to create a workbook and lead a study through it, I thought he was crazy. “Why wouldn’t you inspire me to lead a study through a shorter simpler book like Colossians or Ephesians?” I would pray. Why on earth Leviticus?

Upon first reading through Leviticus I was struck by the utter holiness of our God. If these were all the laws that were required in order to dwell in God’s midst, then he must be much holier than I had originally thought. And we must be much more sinful than I can imagine. I was also struck with the idea that Christ perfectly fulfilled all of these laws. He was the perfect sacrifice and the true high priest. His body is the bread of the presence and his prayers for us, the sweet aroma of incense. His blood made perfect atonement for our sins. We can dwell in God’s presence and enter into his throne room because of what Christ has done. What amazing grace!

My prayer for you is that your concept of God’s holiness would grow (as mine did) as we study Leviticus together.

Are you ready to dive in? There are a couple of things you need to know. First, let’s talk about the homework

There’s homework?

Yes, but you can choose how much homework to complete. The bare minimum that will be required in order to complete the study will be to read the assigned passage in the book of Leviticus. Everything after that is optional. However, to really get the most of this study and to really understand the book of Leviticus, I recommend doing as much of the homework as possible. 

To quote Jen Wilkin, “Is it really Bible Study if the teacher’s the only one doing the studying?”

Which brings me to…

The Workbook

I’ve created an Inductive Bible Study Workbook to accompany this study in Leviticus. The workbook will walk you through the inductive method of study for each grouping of text.

Observation – What does it say? – this step will involve reading the text and taking notes. The workbook is designed to accompany a double-spaced printed copy of the text (not included). You will mark key words and phrases, questions and comments, themes, cross references, and multiple translations right on your double-spaced copy. You don’t need to mark all of these things each time in order to complete a thorough observation. Find what works best for you and stick with that.

I’ve also included some tables to help you think through the details as you observe the text. Not all the information from the text will fit neatly into the tables. I will share my completed tables in my posts for each section so you can see how I filled them in. 

Interpretation – What does it mean? – I’ll ask you some questions to help you think through how the text fits into the bigger picture of the Bible and God’s plan of redemption. Then you will consult commentaries to see how the experts explain the meaning of the text.

I will provide some commentary through my posts for each section,  but you will want to consult other experts on your own (a great place to start is The Gospel Coalition’s Free E-Course on Leviticus)

Application – How should it change me? – At the end of each section you will think through several questions about how what you learned in the text about God and yourself should affect your everyday life.

In my posts I’ll provide some insight into how I might answer the application questions and how I’ve applied what I learned through the text in my everyday life.

The Schedule

Here’s how we’ll break up the book:

PART 1- Introduction to Leviticus

PART 2 – Leviticus 1-7

PART 3 – Leviticus 8-10

PART 4 – Leviticus 11-16

PART 5 – Leviticus 17-20

PART 6 – Leviticus 21-24

PART 7 – Leviticus 25-27

How do I start?

To start, you will need to sign up for the study. You can do so by clicking here. You will then need to download and print the workbook and a double-spaced copy of the text. To download the workbook check your Leviticus Study email or click here to be taken to the printable library (password protected). Check your email for the password. 

Now, are you ready for your first homework assignment? Here it is!